In an interview with Collider at the VES Awards, Star Wars director J.J. Abrams spoke briefly about his future involvement with the franchise, the cross guard lightsaber controversy, IMAX and visual effects.

On the cross guard lightsaber controversy, Abrams assured fans, "This was not done without a lot of conversation... It's fun to see people have the conversation that we had, but in reverse."

He also confirmed that they had filmed one sequence in IMAX. "It's really one sequence, so it's not a ton, but it's a good sequence," he said with a smile.

Though he won't be directing upcoming Star Wars: Episode VIII or Episode IX, he revealed that he would be staying on as executive producer when writer/director Rian Johnson takes over the next two installments.: "I wouldn’t say 8 and 9 are my baby. Rian will be working at least on 8, but I’m executive producing those films, yeah."

In regards to the visual effects, he shared a little about his process. "We used CG more to remove things than to add things," he explained, adding, "It was very important that we build as many sets as we could… for a tangible, authentic feel."

Star Wars: Episode VII hits theaters on December 18. Check out the full interview below for more on Star Wars and his involvement with the next installment of Star Trek.